Could the CARES Act Close the Digital Divide in the United States?

Last week, the U.S. Congress passed the third stimulus bill
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill primarily focused on economic
relief for companies, individuals, cities, states, and tribal communities. It
allocates over $2 trillion in funds for a variety of measures intended to ease
the burden of COVID-19.

Some of the included measures have been in the news for
weeks, including those related to individual checks for those financially
impacted by the virus. But there is an element to this bill that is equally
important, not only for our ability to cope with the virus now but also to
permanently change our country for the better.

These emergency funds allocate $150 billion to states and territories, including $8 billion specifically for Tribal governments, for “coronavirus relief.” What that relief looks like, however, is relatively vague. If a community was financially impacted by the pandemic between March and December of this year, in a way that they did not originally anticipate in their budgets, this fund covers most of those expenses.

And what is one of the biggest impacts we’ve seen? Millions
of people have been forced to isolate themselves at home and carry out their daily
lives as best as possible.

Employees are working from home in record numbers. Students are being forced to leave their schools or dorms to finish the semester using only distance learning. Telemedicine requests are through the roof as hospitals and clinics try to help as many patients as possible without exposing them, or their facilities, to the virus.

If it wasn’t clear before the pandemic struck, it should be
now – the Internet is essential to daily life and without it, individuals
cannot participate in modern society.

This has put unprecedent (but not unmanageable) pressure on
existing networks to increase their capacity and capabilities. The urgent need
to deploy in un- or under-served areas can be felt everywhere, and both large
and small
providers alike are doing their best to connect as many people as possible. But
for those without access, especially in areas where the necessary
infrastructure doesn’t exist, the CARE Act provides an opportunity to take a
big step towards the digital divide for good.

The Covid-19 response bills are a once in a lifetime (I
hope!) opportunity to truly close the digital divide once and for all. It is
critical that local and state government officials take this chance to deploy
networks as quickly as they can to get their communities online, not only so
that they can carry out their normal lives as much as possible, but also so
that they can participate in the thousands of new resources that will exist
after lockdowns have been lifted.

Of all the many priorities communities are balancing today, Internet connectivity must be at the top of the list.

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